“Just deliciousness. So many emotions!” Dinamo Moscow won their third trophy of the season

“Just deliciousness. So many emotions!” Dinamo Moscow won their third trophy of the season

Elena Kovalenko December 24, 2023, 11:55 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

The blue and white retained victory in the battle of the two capitals in the Russian Cup final.

Dinamo Moscow and Leningrad are the two strongest women’s volleyball teams in the country this season. And they once again confirmed their high status by meeting in the final of the Russian Cup.

If for the blue and white this was not the first participation in the final of the tournament and the team knows the taste of victory, then Leningradka reached the main match for the first time in history. This year the cup was played with a new format and both teams began their performance from the quarterfinals. Along the way, the black and yellow eliminated Yenisei and Dynamo – Ak Bars from the fight, and the Muscovites defeated the resistance of Tulitsa and Lokomotiv Kaliningrad.

Hot semi-finals of the Women’s Russian Cup:

In the women’s Russian Cup we played for the “golden” set. The battle to reach the final was hot

The clubs faced the most important match of the year with all their protagonists. In Leningrad, blocker Anna Melnikova returned to her duties, in Dynamo, Ekaterina Pipunyrova and Anna Podkopaeva.

The Dinamo team confidently entered the match from the first minutes of the match: 8:2. The blue and white team began to put pressure on the serve, creating difficulties for their rivals in receiving (30% positive reception). This reduced their entire attack to the edge of the net, but Leningradka’s attacks had to face serious resistance, the work of the best blockers in the championship: Victoria Pushina and Ekaterina Evdokimova. The latter also added flavor to the attack by running behind the head. Irina Koroleva’s block allowed Leningradka to start the chase and reduce the difference to three goals, but her own mistakes did not allow the St. Petersburg team to start the fight at the end (17:25).

Russian Volleyball Cup between women’s teams

Photo: volley.ru

The start of the second set was once again in favor of the Muscovites 6:2. The excellent varied play of setter Evgenia Startseva allowed Dynamo’s forwards to attack in a single or broken block. With the appearance of Yulia Kutyukova in the first game, the hostesses managed to improve the quality of reception to 84%, but the attack did not improve. After another mistake, the coach even had to replace the team leader Anastasia Garelik: the diagonal that night showed its anti-record (2 attacks out of 16, efficiency – 12%).

After the substitution, Leningradka began to play more cleanly. Anastasia Chernova helped her team equalize the score for the first time in this match (15:15). But Irina Kapustina and Natalya Goncharova took the initiative and knocked down every pass they were given. At the same time, the Muscovites hermetically closed all network addresses. If something flew, Anna Podkopaeva ended up in the right place. And Natalia Pereira ended the match – 25:20.

Russian Volleyball Cup between women’s teams

Photo: volley.ru

The third set was similar to the first two: Dinamo’s powerful pressure and leadership allowed them to lead from the beginning 7:2. The precise attacks of the finishers increased the blue and white’s advantage to eight goals. And again, Koroleva’s entry into the net gave Leningrad fans hope for the fight (9:12). “Leningradka” had an excellent period, managing to level the game: Chernova and Kutyukova managed to cool the offensive fervor of the capital team – 18:18. In the end there was a tenacious fight, the teams fighting for each ball. But the experience of Moscow volleyball players did its job: 25:21.

Dynamo defended the Russian Cup champion title in three sets.

Russian Cup (w). The end

December 23, 2023, Saturday. 17:00 Moscow time

Leningrad

St. Petersburg

Dynamo M

Moscow

Leningrad: Sikachyova, Kharlova, Romanova, Chernova, Garelik, Melnikova, Kutyukova, Matienko, Koroleva, Maksimova, Pirainen, Malygina, Shevchenko, Perova

Dinamo M: Pipunyrova, Pushina, Dmitrieva, Goncharova, Sinitsina, Kapustin, Evdokimova, Pereira, Startseva, Polyakova, Khabibrakhmanova, Kurilo, Zhabrova, Podkopaeva

“Yes, we probably have the most experienced team. And this played a big role in today’s victory. Now all that remains is delight, so many emotions! We have been preparing for this victory for a whole year and now I am full of positivity and joy. This is a very important victory for us. First of all, we were preparing our heads for this ending. It was important for us not to let the opponent get emotional and show their game,” Anna Podkopaeva rejoiced.

“A very good and emotional match. Very beautiful. With many interesting moments. Everything that fans like. Leningradka caused us a lot of problems. We advanced easily and gave the balls away with the same ease. The rivals, despite everything, kept going, fought and tried. When we had problems, in some places I helped with timeouts, in others I helped players with specific advice. We try to maintain quality,” Dynamo coach Konstantin Ushakov summarized the results of the match.

The rights to the video belong to the Russian Volleyball Federation.

Dynamo’s most productive player was Irina Kapustina with 17 points (14 attacks, two serves and one block). In “Leningrad” two volleyball players scored 10 points: Anastasia Chernova and Yulia Kutyukova.

The Muscovites won the Russian Cup for the second year in a row and are already six-time champions of this trophy. And this season is the third victory in the final for the blue and white. But the most important battle for the title of national champion is still ahead. Will Dinamo be able to defend this title or will there still be a club that can beat the Moscow volleyball players?